The developers of Hitman Absolution caused quite a stir earlier this year with the game's "Attack of the Saints" trailer, which featured protagonist Agent 47 assassinating a group of lingerie-clad, weapon-wielding nuns. IO Interactive later apologized for the trailer controversy, stating that it wasn't trying to offend people. According to director Tore Blystad, that portion of the game has since been tweaked, with backlash from the trailer causing the developers to change the game.

"We learned from the trailer that we really needed to give these characters some context and some backstory," Blystad said at Gamescom today. "We're working within the game - within that level - to build these characters up before you meet them. That way you know what you're getting and you aren't put off by them." He reiterated the developer's surprise about the controversy, adding, "We've been trying to find out, y'know, how could we not see this happening? If we knew it would get such a negative reaction we would have done it in a different way." Blystad doesn't expect any future backlash over Hitman Absolution's content, expecting gamers to be satisfied with the changes the studio has made. "There will have been so long between the trailer coming out and the game being released that people will have forgotten about it."

No specific details were given about the changes made to the Saints portion of the game, so it's hard to guess whether or not "some context" will really clear up the issues some viewers had with the trailer. Hitman Absolution is due out in November, so only a few months remain until we find out if gamers really will forget about "Attack of the Saints," as Blystad predicts.

Developer 1: "Okay, so we want to get lot's of young adult males buying this, so what do they like?"Developer 2:"Women in skimpy costumes!"Developer 3: "People getting beaten up!"Developer 1: "Okay guys, I have an idea..."

Developer 1: "Okay, so we want to get lot's of young adult males buying this, so what do they like?"Developer 2:"Women in skimpy costumes!"Developer 3: "People getting beaten up!"Developer 1: "Okay guys, I have an idea..."

Sarah LeBoeuf:"We learned from the trailer that we really needed to give these characters some context and some backstory,"

Isn't this a given rule for everything in the universe?

Blystad said at Gamescom today. "We're working within the game - within that level - to build these characters up before you meet them. That way you know what you're getting and you aren't put off by them." He reiterated the developer's surprise about the controversy, adding, "We've been trying to find out, y'know, how could we not see this happening? If we knew it would get such a negative reaction we would have done it in a different way."

Maybe just be less trashy in your marketing? It isn't hard. You managed it pretty well before that trailer. I'm totally fine with skimpy outfits ingame, they've been a part of hitman for a while, near as I can tell. But it was never a focus of the series and putting it front-and-center just sends the wrong message about your product.

I'm rather surprised at all the backlash games have been getting lately as well. Especially where women are involved. New feminist kick? I mean, really. Like that thing with Lara Croft- FEAR 2's protagonist was actually raped, but there was nary a head turned about that. Guess it's not really rape if it happens to a man, yeah?

As for people in fetish outfits being the subject of violence...it ain't just women. Men get it, too.

My guess is that the context was actually that the "nuns" are part of a prostitution ring that will play a part in Absolution's story. Not knowing that would make the trailer look ridiculous (which it was).

Kopikatsu:I'm rather surprised at all the backlash games have been getting lately as well. Especially where women are involved. New feminist kick? I mean, really. Like that thing with Lara Croft- FEAR 2's protagonist was actually raped, but there was nary a head turned about that. Guess it's not really rape if it happens to a man, yeah?

Yeah, seems gaming and gamers are finally 'growing up', so to speak. Still has a long-ass way to go. But hey, baby steps. We went from nobody caring about a character getting raped or various characters shown getting brutally for little reason to asking why this happens.

I don't know if it's just me, but I'm actually quite disappointed at this, I watched the trailer, initially was intrigued, saw the nuns and became curious, saw them pulling out guns and removing their robes before coming to the very quick realisation that they were a gang of some description using either the nun look as a "Gang Persona" (doing gods work?), or as a cover. Either way, I put this game on my "to buy" list because I want to find out EXACTLY what's going on there, not what a mere 30 second clip is showing me.

It has the protagonist, it has some large event involving scantly clad women, it has no context. It's not uncommon for gangs of any description to have specific attire, because it looks good, or makes a statement.. Stuff like this has been happening for years in other forms of media, why is this such a big deal?

Auesis:My guess is that the context was actually that the "nuns" are part of a prostitution ring that will play a part in Absolution's story. Not knowing that would make the trailer look ridiculous (which it was).

They actually did another trailer where the group isn't simply a street gang (as the original video hinted at) but an elite government assassination squad where the outfits were a diversionary measure for them. They had a perfect record up until they were tasked with killing Agent 47 where all but one died.

Auesis:My guess is that the context was actually that the "nuns" are part of a prostitution ring that will play a part in Absolution's story. Not knowing that would make the trailer look ridiculous (which it was).

They actually did another trailer where the group isn't simply a street gang (as the original video hinted at) but an elite government assassination squad where the outfits were a diversionary measure for them. They had a perfect record up until they were tasked with killing Agent 47 where all but one died.

I thought most of that was pretty obvious, but then a lot of people were probably confused by breasts.

If you wanna get scantily clad nuns out of nowhere, i would recommend exploitation movies and they didn't say anything about leaving out the nuns (Though it would be better). They are just giving them a backstory(Which i thought was neccesary from the get go).

OT: This here my friends is interaction between gamers and the developers and only good can come out of it. I applaud them for listening at the very least. Maybe this will make developers think twice about their development strategies and marketing aproach.

Well IO finally realized that gamers have more self respect than IO does.

Irridium:Wait, so is he saying the characters in the game didn't originally have context before this trailer?

Because what I get from this is that in the game the nuns would have been nothing but scantily clad women you beat up/killed, and now there's going to be a reason to do this.

Does this sound a bit odd to anyone else, or am I just reading this wrong? Why the fuck didn't they give it all context in the first damn place?!

Silly Irridium!Everyone knows those drooling, homophobic, misogynistic man-children who play videogames don't have the attention span to absorb something as superfluous as context!All they care about is explosions, blood and tits!

IO, be honest. You're just surprised we had an opinion that wasn't based on the misogynistic jock-gamer crowd you're obviously trying to peddle to. Those gamers who play God of War and fondle themselves. The kind who play Modern Warfare and can't exhale without making a sexist slur.

Goddamnit IO, we're are not offended just because the women are scantily clad, we (that is, we the fans of Hitman, and therefore the only people whose opinions on the trailer matter in the slightest) are offended because the trailer didn't look like Hitman, it just looked like shitty action schlock with ironic nuns. That is NOT Hitman.

DugMachine:I really don't get the fuss. Trailer was absolute shite (hehe) but this isn't the first time we've seen overly sexified women in games. Where was all the fuss then?

Simple. Because back them most gamers were younger and didn't care. Sometime between then and now quite a few gamers seem to have gotten fed up with all the sexualized women getting the shit beaten out of them. And now they want something that's not that.

Took a while, but at least it's an issue. Shows the gaming audience is growing and evolving. Now it seems like it's time for games to do the same.

That's the thing though, I couldn't really give a crap whether they were scantly clad or not, the question that came up is simply WHY. Are they a gang which believe women are pure and superior? in which case a nun persona with a dominatrix style under dress wouldn't necessarily be inappropriate.

The issue of context is always an important one, and the point of trailers is to not only show off the games storyline a bit, but make you ask enough questions to consider actually buying the game.

If I buy the game, play through it, and realise it was "sexiness for the sake of sexiness", then I'll happily come back here and apologise, but all I have to go on was a brief trailer with no context at all. All I saw in that video were nuns with guns in fetish ware wanting 47 dead, and 47 preventing that from happening.

Does this trailer put too much focus on "OOH! WOMEN IN LINGERIE!", maybe, and without context maybe that's all it was, but I'll reserve judgement on that until I've actually played the game.

DugMachine:I really don't get the fuss. Trailer was absolute shite (hehe) but this isn't the first time we've seen overly sexified women in games. Where was all the fuss then?

Simple. Because back them most gamers were younger and didn't care. Sometime between then and now quite a few gamers seem to have gotten fed up with all the sexualized women getting the shit beaten out of them. And now they want something that's not that.

Took a while, but at least it's an issue. Shows the gaming audience is growing and evolving. Now it seems like it's time for games to do the same.

Oh yeah I totally get where you're coming from and even now I find most of this dudebro action adventure stuff with millions of wenches at your disposal to be boring.

But there are still TONS of young gamers who get hyped up by stuff like this so while still a shit trailer they're still catering to a younger audience I would think. Would be nice if we could just drop it all but its just marketing

BlindWorg:*insert generic rant about game and fictions not having an effect on the real world expect through very unhinged individuals who were crazy even before buying the game*

Seriously? I'd actually go the other way. Unhinged individuals may focus on certain fictions, but, being unhinged, they're just as likely to use one fiction (The Dark Knight) as another (Modern Warfare), so the results would likely be the same whether one fiction existed or not.

Stable individuals, on the other hand, are much more susceptible to the influences of fiction, and fiction is often an indicator of current societal moors. Not in a, "You played Hitman so now you're an assassin," or, "Violent videogames cause real world violence," or even the whole idea that rape jokes cause real world rape.

I'm talking about a much more subtle, "Most things you've ever read, played, or watched treat women as disposable, helpless sex toys that need men to save them and keep them in line," and the cumulative effect that has on a male's ability to relate to and respect women, and a female's ability to respect and empower herself.

For example. Other examples include, "War is awesome if you're white and male," "Fat people are lazy, disgusting, and evil," and, "It's impossible for a woman to rape a man" (with the corollary of, "Male-on-male rape in prison is hilarious.")

BlindWorg:*insert generic rant about game and fictions not having an effect on the real world expect through very unhinged individuals who were crazy even before buying the game*

Seriously? I'd actually go the other way. Unhinged individuals may focus on certain fictions, but, being unhinged, they're just as likely to use one fiction (The Dark Knight) as another (Modern Warfare), so the results would likely be the same whether one fiction existed or not.

Stable individuals, on the other hand, are much more susceptible to the influences of fiction, and fiction is often an indicator of current societal moors. Not in a, "You played Hitman so now you're an assassin," or, "Violent videogames cause real world violence," or even the whole idea that rape jokes cause real world rape.

I'm talking about a much more subtle, "Most things you've ever read, played, or watched treat women as disposable, helpless sex toys that need men to save them and keep them in line," and the cumulative effect that has on a male's ability to relate to and respect women, and a female's ability to respect and empower herself.

For example. Other examples include, "War is awesome if you're white and male," "Fat people are lazy, disgusting, and evil," and, "It's impossible for a woman to rape a man" (with the corollary of, "Male-on-male rape in prison is hilarious.")

I definitely agree, they act as though since I played The Witcher I'm going to expect women to fuck me for doing nice things. I'm a little more intelligent than that my friends. Or it's possible I am reading this wrong in which case fuck off.

I still think the whole thing was overblown, and the only reason it seemed to rustle feathers was because it was a guy fighting women, 'scuse me, scantily clad women. (who mind you had just tried to murder the shit out of him) Leaves me wondering if the reaction would have been the same had the devs used Rambo esque men disguised as a bunch of monks.

Still it's hard to actually care, but something about the logic for why we should be upset just nags at me as rather flawed.